February 28 is the last day for applications to the Sigma Scholarship Contest. At stake is a cash award of $5,000 and a gift card for $1,000 worth of Sigma products.

They are looking for one talented high school senior to advance his or her education and goals toward obtaining a career in the photography industry.

The Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship is open to all high school seniors who will graduate in 2011 and seek higher learning. Applicants must aspire to obtain a degree or certificate in a photo-related field such as photography, photojournalism, graphic arts, design, visual arts, art history, etc.

Applicants are required to submit an application, which includes a brief essay of 300-800 words and three to five images that have a connecting theme, in order to be considered for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship. Contest rules here.

Last year’s winner was 17-year-old Jamie Russel from Cheektowaga, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo. The photographs she submitted to the Sigma Scholarship depict the dilapidated Buffalo Central Terminal, a homeless man standing outside the city mission, and a run-down church.